free evidence-based app worth downloading

Nearly a third of Americans use complementary health approaches, ranging from dietary supplements to acupuncture. Point-of-care resources to identify the supplement your patient is taking but you’ve never heard of can be very helpful. We recently reviewed a useful resource, the Comprehensive Natural Medicines Database application. Here we will review the About Herbs app.

I’ll try not to marvel at this medical application. Developed by integrative medicine specialists at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), the About Herbs app includes information about herbs, supplements, and alternative medicine techniques like acupuncture and acupressure. Images are included with each entry, making the About Herbs app visually pleasing. Honestly, they had me from the opening screen.

The About Herbs app is free and requires no registration. There is a standard medical use disclaimer. An About page directs users to the MSKCC website or FAQs about herbs and other products.

The FAQ offers answers to many common questions regarding the use of herbal and integrative medicine products for cancer prevention and treatment. It also includes information on herb-drug interactions and acupuncture.

The biggest strength of the About Herbs app is the searchable database of herbal products and integrative therapies. Users can search for a particular item or use the browse feature to browse a list of topics. An iTunes reviewer suggested that this could be improved by also incorporating searches by disease state.

Information on the subject is provided in both consumer and professional versions.

The consumer version of this medical app includes scientific, common, and brand names of herbal medicines or supplements, as well as information about how the product is supposed to work, uses, warnings, side effects, and a ” special point” which often includes a recommendation on whether patients should use or avoid the herb. Users can share information via email.

A toggle at the top of the page allows users to easily switch between consumer and professional versions, ideal at the bedside in an office or clinic. Professional versions of the monographs include scientific, common, and brand names, a clinical summary, mechanism of action, warnings, adverse effects, herb-drug interactions, and a reference list.

The About Herbs app’s reference list often includes articles more than 5-10 years old, although some have very recent references. This perhaps reflects more the body of knowledge on the subject rather than a gap in the application.

Users can also favorite topics to keep a list of products they frequently refer to. Navigation from the favorites section could be improved as there is no Back button to take the user back to the last viewed page.